WINDSOR — Shayne Corson remembers the blood, the pain and mostly, the fear.

He was suffering and as is often the case with teenagers, he opted to suffer in silence.

Corson, 46, an NHL left-winger from 1985-2004 with the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars, was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when he was 15.

“I was living in Barrie and actually hid it for six months from my parents,” Corson said.

“I’m not afraid to say I was a little bit scared. You always think the worst. I was worried that I might have cancer and that’s why I was afraid to say something.”

A trip to hospital after one attack finally quelled his fear.

“My mom found me in the washroom rolled up in a ball like a little baby with some pain and cramps and then looked in the toilet and saw all the blood and knew something was seriously wrong,” Corson said.

“That’s how it all started for me.”

Corson is dedicating his post-hockey life to raising awareness of the illness, opening up about his own battle in intimate detail so that others won’t hide from what can be an undignified illness.

“It’s not the most glamorous disease,” Corson said. “I think there’s a lot of people who are shy and embarrassed to talk about it, because of the type of disease it is.

“You’re eating something or drinking something and it’s going right through you. I had some times that were a little embarrassing.”

Such as the day a stubborn high school teacher refused to believe an ill Corson needed to leave class.

“I was having an attack and I asked to go to the washroom,” Corson recalled. “The teacher said ‘No.’ I asked again and she said, ‘No you can’t.’

“So I’m sitting there sweating and trying to hold back, but unfortunately, she wouldn’t let me go to the washroom and I had to go right there on the spot.

“I got up and ran right home.”

Inflammatory bowel diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease affect more than 230,000 Canadians. IBD impacts twice as many Canadians as other more prevalent illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

Corson hopes the knowledge he was able to overcome his illness and play two decades in the NHL will help others fighting UC to recognize that with proper treatment, they can also lead normal lives.

“When I was first diagnosed with it, there were people that would say that I was never going to make it,” Corson said. “I was pretty small and skinny and that was partly due to the colitis and everything just running out of me.

“I just looked at it as another challenge in life and tried to meet it head on and stay positive. It becomes part of your life, but you just have to find the way to manage the disease.”

“I had great support from my mom and my dad and my sisters. You can do whatever you want in life.”

Though he’s had recurrences, for the most part, Corson has controlled his UC through diet and medication. Early detection is a big part of that ability to manage the disease, which is why he’s so emphatic about the need for open discussion of the illness.

“For me, talking about it was the first step,” Corson said. “Sitting there worrying and not knowing what it was for the first six months made it worse.”